Def Comedy Jam | |
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Genre | Stand-up comedy |
Created by |
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Directed by | Stan Lathan |
Presented by | Martin Lawrence |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
Production | |
Camera setup | Single camera |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | March 7, 1992 – May 2, 1997 |
Related | |
Def Comedy Jam is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, and Bob Sumner. [1] [2] [3] The series was hosted by Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry in its first six seasons, Mike Epps in its seventh season, and D. L. Hughley in its eighth season.
Simmons and long-time collaborator Lathan were inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and The Comedy Act Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They teamed up with Def Jam Records label executive and veteran comedy scout Sumner to launch the show. The series had its original run from 1992 to 1997, and in 2006 it returned in the HBO fall lineup. The show helped to launch the careers of several African-American stand-up comedians.
On 10 September 2017, a Netflix special, Def Comedy Jam 25, was filmed at the Beverly Hilton. It was shown on 26 September 2017 and featured many of the comedy stars listed below. [4]
The show produced a spinoff called Loco Slam. [5]
The show was released on DVD boxsets in the US and the UK. [6]